Quiz: Do You Have an Ivy League Vocabulary?: HowStuffWorks

Do You Have an Ivy League Vocabulary?

EDUCATION

By: Elisabeth Henderson

7 Min Quiz

Image: Hill Street Studios / DigitalVision / Getty Images

About This Quiz

Many think that people use big vocabulary words just to show off their pretentious knowledge. While that may be true in many cases, it's equally true that so-called "big" words have very specific purposes, and using these words allows speakers to communicate in more nuanced ways.

Take the word "big," for example. If someone accuses you of using a "big" word, they don't tell you specifically what their complaint is with the word. "Bigger," more nuanced words could allow them to communicate that they took issue with the word being grandiose, or putting on a sense of being grand. They could also let you know that they didn't agree with your prestigious word choice given the vulgar context.

Ivy League students and alumni, at their best, don't use elevated vocabulary merely to show off their intellect and university pedigree. They know that word choice is nothing but critical thinking — trying to say exactly what you mean, which requires you to know exactly what you think and not just slide by with generalities.

Words become less useful as they are less used because as fewer people understand their meaning, they fail to communicate that meaning effectively. So, learning and using advanced vocabulary is truly a work of intellectual conservation. Scroll on to find out if you’re in on the conversation, or if it all sounds like obfuscation.

The professor set the papers on the desk and declared we were all inept. What did he mean?

We showed an aptitude for writing.

Our writing lacked moral character.

We were brilliant.

We lacked the skills necessary to complete the assignment.

Being called inept is never a good thing. It generally means that you do not have the skills to do the thing you are in fact doing. If you are inept, you need to be retrained or just get a different job. In this case, though, the person calling the students inept is the one who should be teaching them the skills. So, doesn't that mean he is inept?

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If your friend tells you to please excuse her behavior last weekend because it was an aberration, what does she mean?

It was not her fault.

It was out of the ordinary.

It was business as usual.

It was related to her illness.

Your friend was communicating to you that her behavior was out of the ordinary. But you may want to keep an eye on her and try to establish for yourself what her ordinary behavior looks like before you take it as an aberration.

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The toddler shocked her mother by __________ to her demands rather than putting up a fight.

Spurning

Impeding

Acquiescing

Espousing

If a toddler acquiesces to a parent's demands, you can be pretty sure that there is a treat involved. Toddlers don't easily relent in their desires without some external motivation. Acquiescence denotes a tacit approval, rather than the full approval of consent.

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One of my fellow students told me they felt that the teacher lacked a solid pedagogy. What did she mean?

An aesthetic treatment of the feet

A way to walk to work

A child’s doctor

A method of teaching

While a teacher may indeed be lacking a pedicure, the word pedagogy refers to the method or philosophy of teaching the teacher employs. In general, it's rare for students to complain about a teacher's pedagogy or lack thereof, but that may well be different in Ivy League schools.

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The doctor invited me to peruse the latest research on vaccinations. What do they want me to do?

Watch TV with an article of research open on your browser

Watch a video about the latest research

Ignore the research

Read over the research

It sounds like the doctor is merely inviting you to read over the current research carefully. While peruse sometimes is used to mean casual reading, it actually refers to scrutinizing a text thoroughly.

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How might you convey that the fee will be inconsequential?

Lugubrious

Nominal

Prominent

Appreciable

When someone says there is a nominal fee, the literal meaning is that it will be inconsequential, or in name only. But it’s always a good idea to check the fine print ... How consequential a fee is can be entirely relative.

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If your date informs you that she has a predilection for fish tacos, what should you infer?

She hates fish tacos.

She loves fish tacos.

She is allergic to fish tacos.

She can't respect people who eat fish tacos.

The word predilection comes from the Latin roots "prae" — in advance — and "diligere" — to select — so the word means "to select in advance." Thus, if you're going to a place that offers fish tacos, you can just know in advance that's what she's going to select. That probably doesn't mean you should just order them for her, though.

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The professor stopped me and said we would stick to only the salient points. What was wrong with my contribution?

It was not objective.

It was not political enough.

It was too political.

It was off topic.

The salient points of an article would be the most important, most noticeable and memorable points. So, if a professor were to tell you that your point was not salient, they would likely be trying to gently tell you that your comment was off topic.

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My friend told me she was looking for an article to buttress her argument. What does she mean?

An article to come at the end of her argument

An article to stand against her argument

An article to support the points of her argument

An article to show the need for her own research

Buttress, in this sense, means a line of defense or support. The word comes from a specific architectural meaning, though. A buttress is a wall built to hold up the structure of another building.

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How might you say that someone was a perfect, shining example of some quality?

Essential

Preferential

Quintessential

Differential

The quintessential example is the perfect example of whatever the quality is. Like, the quintessential granola-type eats granola for breakfast with a kale smoothie and wears patchouli instead of deodorant. The word comes from the Latin for the fifth essence, which, in Medieval thinking, was the stuff the heavens were made of.

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When your new boyfriend tells you that he prefers to keep the relationship furtive, what do you understand him to mean?

"Let's have a spiritual friendship."

"Let's have an open relationship."

"Let's just stay friends."

"Let's keep it a secret."

If your boyfriend wants to have a furtive relationship, then chances are he has something else furtive going on behind your back. Why else would he not want anyone to know? Furtive means secretive, but it also implies hiding intentions as well.

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He asked me to go on an equine adventure for a date ... Should I say yes?

Yes, if you like horses.

Yes, if you like hiking.

No, it sounds sketchy.

No, unless you're into that.

An equine adventure would involve horses, presumably a horseback ride — unless you're in Kentucky, where you may need to get a funny hat and dress up for the Derby. Either one has the potential for a good date, but it depends on your preferences.

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If your supervisor tells you privately that your comment in the meeting was incisive, what should you take her to mean?

"You shouldn’t use derogatory language."

"Your comment was sharp and to the point."

"Your comment cut down your coworker."

"You should stop interrupting others."

The word incisive may sound negative, but it means sharp and to the point. If a supervisor pulls you aside to discuss your incisive comment, she's most likely showing you that your words cut to the heart of the conversation.

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His friend said he made a prudent decision. Should he be offended?

Yes, because the friend was likely slighting his manhood.

Yes, because the friend basically called him a fool.

No, because the friend acknowledged the wisdom of his decision.

No, because the friend acknowledged that it would financially benefit him in the long run.

Though it may sound like just another way to say someone's a prude, the word prudent means being wise and considering the consequences of actions.

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The parent warned the toddler not to exacerbate the situation. What are they expecting the toddler to understand?

If they continue in their behavior, they're going to make a bad situation worse.

They should not expect to get more than what they have in life.

They shouldn't read more into the situation than what is there.

They should accept things as they are.

Telling a toddler that they should not exacerbate the situation expects them to understand that continuing in their behavior will make a bad situation worse. This is a pretty big ask for a toddler. But their exacerbating behavior can be very exasperating sometimes, which makes it understandable why someone may use words way beyond the cognitive abilities of their audience.

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She told me that the movie was not worth seeing because it was an adulterated version of the book. Why isn't it worth my time?

It's rated R.

It has adult scenes.

It is animated.

The additions they made ruin the original story.

Adulterated does not actually mean adult rated, and it certainly doesn't mean animated. Adulterating something means adding something that takes away from the purity of the original or otherwise ruining it. It's more common to see something labeled "unadulterated" than "adulterated," since you don't want a product label to say "ruined."

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My father warned me to be ______ when walking at night.

Speculative

Ethereal

Circumspect

Iconoclast

Out of the possibilities, circumspection seems the most useful lesson for walking at night. To be circumspect is to look around, to be cautious and to consider all the possible options. The act of caution and actual looking around go hand in hand when walking at night.

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The teacher said the final exam would be cumulative. What does that mean?

It will be an oral exam.

It will not count any extra credit.

The grade will replace your lowest grade.

It's going to cover everything.

Cumulative exams require students to go back to the dawn of time (or the beginning of the semester or term) and try to remember what they learned. The word cumulative contains the meaning not just of adding one thing to another, but of knowledge accumulating, like a snowball growing larger as it rolls downhill.

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I just wanted to tell them that gender was not a _______ issue, that it was more fluid than that, but I couldn't think of the word.

Bipolar

Bisexual

Binary

Biennial

A binary is something that can be seen as black and white or either/or. It’s a choice with two options, and the options are opposed to one another. Gender, many argue, should be seen as non-binary, meaning there is a range of possibilities beyond the binary of male and female.

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How do indolent students fare in college?

They outperfom most students.

They often fail to do the required work.

They spend most of their time on artistic pursuits.

They do well on written work and bomb the interpersonal work.

The world indolent, meaning lazy or slothful, comes from the Latin "in" (or "not") and "dolere" (or "give pain"). So, the original word signified something that did not give pain. Around the 17th century, the word took on the meaning of laziness. It seems that those 17th-century folk took seriously the idea of no pain no gain, or the earlier version, no pain or you're a lazy bum.

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Just when I thought the speech was over, the speaker acknowledged that the preamble had concluded. How much longer will the speech go?

He's just getting warmed up.

It's reached the middle.

It's nearing the end.

There's no way to tell.

The preamble to a speech is just a warm-up for the real thing. If you're already getting sleepy, you may need to excuse yourself. The preamble to the Constitution of the United States, beginning "We the people," is one of the more famous preambles.

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What's a euphemism for the kid who won't stop talking in class?

Vociferous

Unobtrusive

Clandestine

Raucous

A vociferous student talks loudly and calls a lot of attention to themselves, while a raucous student would be more rowdy and disruptive. Vociferous is not necessarily a negative term, so it could be used euphemistically to describe the loud student.

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She rejected my point of view because it was arcane. What was her criticism?

It was too obscure.

It was vulgar.

It was ignorant.

It was out of context.

If you're accused of being arcane, you may be spending too much time with mystical and esoteric texts. The word arcane comes from the Latin for "chest." So something arcane is shut up in a chest, making it inaccessible to most people.

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She claimed that being a parent was ________ to being a pet owner, but I vehemently argued they are nothing alike.

Conclusive

Prevenient

Antithetical

Analogous

Two things are analogous when they can be compared. Usually, seeing an analogy between two things illuminates something about the items being compared. Certainly, raising children and raising pets have their similarities, but some may argue that the differences are so far-reaching as to make them weak analogies for each other.

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If you've completed this quiz with 100% accuracy, it's safe to say you'd be at home ___________ in an Ivy League school.

Gesticulating

Matriculating

Circumnavigating

Prognosticating

To matriculate means to become enrolled as a student. The word arises from the Latin "matrix," which, before it was a Keanu Reeves movie, meant "breeding female." If you can understand how that's analogous for your life, you're definitely Ivy League material. Congratulations!

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What does it mean if someone is described as infamous?

That they are popular

That they have a bad reputation

That they used to be famous

That they are hard to remember

Infamous is one of those words that's confusing because it sounds like a word with a different meaning. Being infamous doesn't mean you’re not famous or that you're really famous. Rather, it means that you're famous for your bad reputation, and that's not really the fame most people are looking for.

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Maxine went on a diatribe. Where did she go?

On a train

Somewhere on foot

On a verbal attack

On a lengthy tangent

Contrary to the way it’s often used in a sentence, a diatribe is not a mode of transportation. It's a harsh and bitter verbal attack, either in writing or spoken aloud. The word comes from the Greek "dia," or "through," and "tribein," or "rub." It's literally rubbing it in.

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She reached the _______ of the semester when she hadn't slept for three days and was surviving on instant noodles and diet soda.

Nadir

Peak

Adrenaline

Impetus

Surviving on diet soda and instant noodles without sleep represents the low point, or nadir, of a semester. If you guessed peak, we may just have to agree to disagree. The word has Arabic roots and literally means "the opposite of the zenith."

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How would you describe a professor who is difficult to please?

Meticulous

Unflappable

Serene

Perturbed

If you have a meticulous professor, you may have a hard time pleasing them with shoddy, rushed work. Meticulous, in addition to meaning difficult to please, also refers to extreme attention to detail. What did you think you were going to get in an Ivy League school?

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The teacher requested that we not use the vernacular in written work. What should we avoid in our papers?

Informal, spoken language

The first person

The third person

Offensive language

The vernacular is the everyday speech of a group of people and designates the speech of a particular region explicitly. Using the vernacular may not be appropriate for academic writing, but it would be the best choice for trying to communicate with a group of peers about where to eat.

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Which word would you use to convey that a person is likable and warm?

Amenable

Amiable

Impeccable

Impudent

The word amiable means that a person is likable and warm. An amiable waiter would visit with your table for a minute and set you at ease with their social, laid-back manner, which is much preferred to the impudent waiter who may intentionally give you the wrong food and ignore you on purpose when you don't have silverware.

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If a teacher asks you to extrapolate information from an article, what are they asking you to do?

Summarize the article

Infer something based on the information given

Make a case for how you would respond to the article

Point out any gaps in the article's argument

When you extrapolate something, you extend the existing information or method to see how it applies elsewhere. In mathematics, this can mean continuing a graph based on the known patterns, even when you do not have the known quantities.

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The professor called him to office hours to ask him not to be so obsequious. What should he stop doing?

Acting in a servile manner

Turning in assignments late

Arguing vehemently

Interrupting other students

Obsequious behavior is obedience to the point of being servile or infantile. While professors surely appreciate compliance in the classroom, they generally do not want students to fawn and brown nose.

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If someone is disingenuous, how should you take their word?

Believe what they say

With a grain of salt

Assume they may be hiding something

Don't believe anything they say

The word disingenuous describes someone who is insincere or is not forthright about what they know. Being disingenuous is subtly different from outright lying about something; it's more cagey, like acting like you didn't know someone lost their phone, when, really, you saw someone take it.

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Your English teacher assigned you to repudiate the argument in a critical essay. What's the goal of the assignment?

To summarize the critical essay's claims

To compare and contrast the essay with your own ideas

To prove why the essay's claims are false

To offer an alternative ending

Repudiate can mean to reject, deny or to refuse to associate with, but in this context, the teacher most likely means that they want you to refute the critical essay's claims by proving why they are false. The word actually comes from a Latin root meaning “divorce.”

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